Ground beef imports part of Trump affordability plan

President Donald Trump announced that 300,000 metric tons of ground beef will be imported tariff-free for 90 days. Trump said that beef would be sold 25% below current market prices, and he defended this decision when meeting with reporters at Andrews Air Force Base: “We want to get the beef prices down, so we’ll get them down a little bit, and that’s what people want, that’s what the voters want and that’s what I want.” Trump did say the beef coming from foreign sources would be of the highest quality.

Fewer dairy farms are producing more milk

The number of U.S. dairy farms is expected to fall below 20,000 by the end of the decade. Terrain Senior Dairy Analyst Ben Laine says the decline in farm numbers has not translated into lower milk production; “We’ve lost 100,000 farms since the ’90s, but we’re making more than 50% more milk in that time. We’re making much more milk with the cows that we have. It’s not a story of less milk. It’s fewer farms that are making more milk per cow.” Laine says consolidation has affected smaller and medium-sized dairy operations as producers pursue greater efficiency. He also sees economic benefits when a large dairy locates in a community; “There is a lot of additional business around that. It is a boon to the local economy in a lot of cases.”

Trade dispute could pressure milk prices

Canada remains a critical export market for U.S. dairy products, and an escalating trade dispute could create additional challenges for dairy farmers. Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative Chief Policy Officer Karen Gefvert says Canada was the second-largest market for U.S. dairy products last year, with exports valued at $1.3 billion. “It’s really important from a dairy perspective that we continue to maintain a working relationship with Canada for an export market,” Gefvert said. She says losing access to Canada could leave more dairy products in the domestic market and put pressure on milk prices. The trade dispute could also increase costs for farmers. “As we see this escalation occur between the U.S. and Canada, we anticipate breakdowns in supply chains,” Gefvert said. “That’s going to raise costs yet again for farmers who are already seeing a high increased cost in a lot of their inputs because of instability, because of tariffs, because of availability of those products.”

NMPF, USDEC welcome trade action with Canada

U.S. dairy groups are backing the new trade pressure on Canada. The National Milk Producers Federation and U.S. Dairy Export Council say new 50% tariffs on some Canadian goods could push Canada back to the negotiating table. USDEC President Krysta Harden says Canada has had several chances to address U.S. dairy concerns. Under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Canada agreed to give U.S. dairy products more duty-free access through tariff-rate quotas. U.S. dairy groups say Canada has failed to fully fill those quotas. NMPF President Gregg Doud says the trade practices are hurting U.S. dairy farmers and exporters.

Putting up walls

Tariffs are adding another layer of uncertainty for agriculture, particularly in trade between the U.S. and Canada. “Dairy has been such an irritant with the U.S. administration that they’re trying to upset everything that’s already been taking place,” said Kyle Peacock, Peacock Tariff Consulting.
In his view, northern dairy farms will be put at a disadvantage; “We’re not just losing out because Canada’s putting walls up. We’re losing out because the southern states that are doing it more inexpensive, are taking some of this market.”

A structural change

In an address to the Kansas State University Risk and Profit Conference, NMPF President and CEO Gregg Doud said agriculture is going through a fundamental shift, and it’s all about protein; “Dairy is just one expression of a much bigger shift in how people are consuming nutrition.” International demand is moving to whey protein and other dairy ingredients. Domestically, the protein push has been tied to glucagon-like peptide-1 and weight loss drugs. “There’s a real question here about whether this is a fad or a structural shift in how people think about food,” Doud said. “If it’s structural, it changes the long-term demand curve for agriculture.” Doud cites the revitalization of traditional high-protein foods, like yogurt and cottage cheese, appears to be more than a short-term movement.

More cows, more milk

Milk production in the 24 major dairy states totaled 19.4 billion pounds in July, up 2.3% from a year earlier. Minnesota milk production rose 3.7% with the addition of 15,000 milk cows in the past year. South Dakota milk production was up 6.8% with 16,000 cows added to the state’s herd.

Milk production increases

The latest Dairy Market Report from the NMPF and the dairy checkoff says U.S. milk production grew 3% in June. Rising butter production has limited gains, even with growing demand at home and abroad. Cheese demand at home and at quick-serve restaurants is down, pressuring Class III milk prices. The recent increase in feed prices and a lower all-milk price set the stage for potential Dairy Margin Coverage payments for August.

Control of Minnesota Senate up for grabs

All 67 Senate districts in Minnesota are up for election in November. There’s currently a 34-33 split in the state Senate, and the November election will determine the balance of power in St. Paul. Minnesota Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson expects fraud and government accountability to be big issues for voters. “We’ve got a number of districts that are really in play right now,” said Johnson. He cited Districts 3, 4 and 14 in rural Minnesota that are now represented by DFLers but voted for President Trump in the last election. Johnson said this election cycle is all about turnout; “Make sure you vote for the candidates that you choose this November. Midterms typically have lower voter turnout, so your vote matters so much more this election.”

New Holland highlights hay equipment at Farm Progress Show

Harvesting technology was at the center of New Holland’s Farm Progress Show display. The Speedrower 1 Series self-propelled windrower lineup was introduced. The new Roll-Belt 1 Series round balers with IntelliBale automation was highlighted.

Hands-free baling from Deere

John Deere has added hands-free baling technology to its forage equipment lineup. This system combines Deere’s AutoTrac guidance feature with its Weave Automation round baler feature. Together, these technologies will allow the tractor and baler to automatically follow windrows using guidance from the previous combine passes and get consistent bales with less effort.

Van Nurden promoted

Pauline Van Nurden is now the director of the University of Minnesota Center for Farm Financial Management. Van Nurden has been with CFFM for nearly 10 years, most recently as the associate director.

Two Minnesotans on organic standards board

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced the appointment of five new members to the National Organic Standards Board. Two of these individuals are from Minnesota. Jerry Matzner is an organic farmer near Marshall, and Dr. Brad Heins is a professor of organic dairy management at the University of Minnesota. The 15-member National Organic Standards Board advises the agriculture secretary on organic production issues.

Trivia challenge

France is the #1 per-capita cheese consuming country in the world, with average consumption topping 57 pounds per person. That answers our last trivia question. For this week’s trivia, H2O is the chemical compound for what common resource? We’ll have the answer in our next edition of the Dairy Star.

Don Wick is owner/broadcaster for the Red River Farm Network of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wick has been recognized as the National Farm Broadcaster of the Year and served as president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Don and his wife, Kolleen, have two sons, Tony and Sam, and five grandchildren, Aiden, Piper, Adrienne, Aurora and Sterling.